UUJEC Issues & Actions Blog

After my heart attack on Aug 20, 2017, the stent the docs put into my blocked artery seemed to fix everything. But then I got my lipoprotein panel test results back, and there were no risk factors. In fact all my ratios involving fatty acids and cholesterol were right at, or exceeded, target levels (even more after 6 months). I’d made daily exercise (walking or biking) part of my lifestyle my whole life, plus followed a “healthy” vegetarian diet (plus fish and dairy) for over 3 decades, limiting sugars. What had gone wrong? My cardiologist basically said “shit happens”. Eventually I decided to start doing my own research. What I found was shocking.

This article from Truthdig by Paul Street lays out the deep hole that the left-leaning identity politics of the liberal UU establishment has dug for itself. Thankfully it then elaborates on 12 steps to redemption. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 was a blazing advertisement for the catastrophic failure of this identity politics. Yet what has been the dominant UUA response? – To avoid serious discussion (perhaps because it hits too close to home) and to simply bear down harder. The prime example: How the UUA has tied itself into knots over the phrase “white supremacy”.

One of UUJEC’s top action priorities is to mobilize resources, strategic plans, collaboration and action to provide basic healthcare to all US citizens and residents. This undergirds the larger goal of reducing wealth inequality.

Because our white eyes can see and qualify white people more easily, let go and hire the best qualified person of color that you can find. I managed restaurants for 35 years and after literally thousands of hires, I would challenge anyone who thinks they can hire infallibly. There was really only one parameter that seemed to indicate sure success--length of prior employment. Often the applicant would be embarrassed at their lack of references, but someone who's stayed in the same job for a third of their life is likely to be a very stable employee.

We hope you can join us at a one-day conference, to be held at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL on Saturday, April 21, 9:30am - 3:00pm. UUJEC and the Evanston Church are jointly sponsoring the event.

The Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) strives to create a world of justice, equity and compassion where the inherent worth and dignity of every person is recognized and affirmed as set forth in our Unitarian Universalist Principles.

The resources available on the Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community’s website, UUJEC.com, are easy to use and can have a significant impact. I know I have said this before but every time I employ the resources it strikes me how useful these resources are.

These resources spur robust discussions around income inequality. When I presented the TED Talks at our Fellowship which can be found at the UUJEC website I came off as an expert. I guess the audience blended my identity with the TED speaker. For this kudo I spent a few minutes setting up the big screen TV and hooking up my laptop. The participants at the webinar were amazed at the coast to coast discussion. The latest minimal effort activity is the Shoreline UU Study Series on income inequality. This study series can be found in the drop-down menu at the UUJEC website under escalating inequality.

The "Taxman," article, that starts with income and then blames taxes for our "affordability crisis," needs more information. It completely overlooks the wage stagnation over the last four decades.

In total, wages used to be 55 percent of GDP, in the 1960s. Now they are only 45 percent; that's 10 percent less of GDP. Current GDP is about $20 trillion. So wages are $2 trillion LESS today than they would be if they had not flat-lined beginning in the 1970s.

Healthcare-NOW headquarters: the Massachusetts State Senate moved the state closer to implementing single payer healthcare by commissioning a single payer study - with a twist. The Senate passed an amendment that charges the state's Center for Health Information and Analysis to include in their annual reports a comparison of what the state would be spending on healthcare under a single-payer plan, with what it actually spent the previous year.

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